Product Description

It is 1498, and the whole of Venice is abuzz. Hidden somewhere in the labyrinthine city is an ancient book, rumored to contain thorny heresies and secrets of immeasurable power. Luciano, a penniless orphan, has been plucked from the street and taken on as apprentice to the chef at the doge's palace. While learning the alchemy of cooking, he quickly finds himself entangled in the search for the ancient tome, even suspecting the chef, his maestro, may be concealing valuable information. But lurking in the wings are some of the most powerful, dangerous men in Venice, and Luciano's secret will lead him through a perilous maze to the center of an intrigue that will test his deepest desires and loyalties.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #288735 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
Newmark excels in describing the sensory delights of food and its mystical influences on the human heart . . . Newmark's Venice lingers in the mind; it is a place of sea-salt and veal in white wine, of ambition, violence, and greed --Historical Books Review

Review
This gripping tale moves swiftly through the colourful world of fifteenth century Venice and the suspense is maintained effortlessly by this talented writer

From the Back Cover
‘Are you sure, Luciano, was the man truly dead?’

‘Yes, Maestro.’

‘Other states can be mistaken for death.’

‘Maestro, he was poisoned. I saw his eyes. Dead as stone.’

‘Oh, Dio,’ The chef put his head in his hands. ‘It’s begun.'

It is 1498, and the whole of Venice is abuzz. Hidden somewhere in the labyrinthine city is an ancient book, rumoured to contain long buried secrets and the key to immeasurable power.

Street orphan Luciano, apprenticed to the greatest chef in Venice, is shocked to witness sinister deeds at the doge’s palace. Eyes wide, he also marvels at the side effects of his maestro’s exquisite recipes.

But just as the inquisitive Luciano begins to suspect the fabled book is tantalisingly close at hand, he comes to the attention of the most dangerous, powerful men in Venice . . .

Customer Reviews

One Humdinger of a Story
It's 1498 and Luciano is little more than a street rat in Venice, turned out when he was six years old. He's managed to learn the art of survival, which is necessary when you live on the rough and it's cold outside. Sometimes surviving means thieving and a stolen pomegranate brings Luciano to the attention of Chef Amato Ferrero, chef to the Doge of Venice. The Chief is a mysterious Guardian who hides secrets in recipes and uses food to influence events. He sees something special in Luciano, so he makes him a deal he can't refuse, rescuing him from the streets and moving him in to the palace of the doge, making him his apprentice.

The doge seeks a very special book, one that contains secrets. Immortality, alchemy, love potions, these are things people would kill to learn back in old Venice. After all who wouldn't want to live forever, turn lead to gold and make anybody fall for you.

Venice during the Renaissance really lives in Ms. Newmark's words, but vibrant description, brilliant characterization, exciting scenes and an exotic local will not make a book if the story isn't there and this is one humdinger of a story. Elle Newark has done everything absolutely right in this novel. I just loved it and can't recommend it enough.

4.5 Stars - A Sensory Delight
It is not often where I'm not that fond of the protagonist but love the book. At the same time, keeping in mind the age and background of Luciano, his actions were perfectly in tune with the character. His actions had tragic results but there was redemption in the end.

In many ways Ferrero the chef is the strongest character as he seeks to teach Luciano the lessons of life and impart knowledge through cooking. "Knowledge is the stepping stone to wisdom." To me, that's the sign of a good writer. All the characters were true to them selves and contributed greatly to the sense of time and place of the story, which was very well done and not idealized.

Newmark gave us the hardship of the poor and the lushness of the rich. "If Venice was a slut, Rome was a murderer." The Renaissance being a time of conflict between the Church and intellectual questioning through scientific advancement and the development of the printing press adds tension to the story while imparting historical information to the reader. I always love learning new bits of history.

The descriptions of food were as close to sensory as one can get from a written page. I don't know how historically accurate were all the food items and their availability, but considering how much they added to the story and that his is fiction, I am willing to forgive the author any license that may have been taken. The scenes of meals changing the moods, and even decisions, were delightful. In some ways, it reminded me of the book "Chocolot."

The plot was intriguing and did have a bit of "Da Vinci Code" element in that there was something for which everyone was looking and no one was really certain what it contained. A minor complaint was that it switched time periods, a couple times, without indication. This was a wonderful book and I so glad I read it.

A celebration of those who choose to be teachers of wisdom.
From the first moment of beginning to read this book I knew it would captivate me, my attention and my imagination. Elle Newmark has written a book which was simply a marvel for me to read. Venice of 1498 is so alive that I could smell the good and the bad aromas described here, I heard the sounds, I felt the prickliness of unease over the actions of evil men. The story is told through the orphan boy Luciano who survives by picking through the garbage left to rot in the gutters. Luciano, Marco and Domingo are the three friends who protect each other and look after each other to the best of their young abilities. All three lives are marked by the political events taking place in Venice and the search for the magic book. Some say there is more than one book and that they contain the formula for a love potion, or perhaps the method for turning lead into gold, or even, the secret of immortality.

When the chef in the palace of the doge of Venice spots Luciano stealing a pomegranate in the market square he is taken from his familiar world of petty thievery into a place of luxury unlike anything he ever knew existed. The main question Luciano has is, why? Why has the maestro chosen him? What does the maestro want him to do? When these questions are asked, the answers don't always satisfy Luciano but he begins to learn, slowly, ever so slowly, that the maestro only wants him to be better than he ever knew he could be.

This book is so richly written that it almost defies description for me. There were times when the preparation of a meal was described so beautifully that I found myself salivating. When the layers of political intrigue in 15th century Italy are revealed in their horrendous cruelty I experienced the horror of men being beastly to men. Times when Luciano would finally comprehend what lesson Chef Ferrero was trying to teach him in the story he told or the food he prepared made me rejoice for that young boy grasping a lesson to hold on to for the remainder of his life.

I loved it all. The food which could be used to influence men from one course of action to another. The search for the mysterious book that meant something different to each person who sought it. The secret group of men who were willing to sacrifice their very lives to protect what had been encoded and handed down within the books for their safekeeping. And through it all, the wonderful evocative prose that put me there, in those streets, in that house, in that kitchen, on that balcony, in that torture chamber. Whether it was a pleasant experience or not doesn't matter. Experience it I did. I highly recommend this book. It is filled with history, pathos, charm, excitement and above all else, a gratitude to the teachers. And the truly exciting part is, this book shows that each of us is or can be a teacher.

This book was previously released under the title "Bones of the Dead" in 2007. I really like this new title even though it does not give the prospective buyer many clues as to what they can expect within the pages of the book. This is a book which I savored and enjoyed from start to finish.